


Suddenly immortality didn't seem so bad

by bookreadingtrash



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Love, M/M, Mating, Multi, Smut, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:42:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29628579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookreadingtrash/pseuds/bookreadingtrash
Summary: What do Lucien and Azriel have in common? A burning desire for the quiet Archeron sister, Elain.When Elain has a vision of the three of them entangled together, what will she do?
Relationships: Azriel/Lucien Vanserra, Elain Archeron & Lucien Vanserra, Elain Archeron/Azriel
Comments: 11
Kudos: 53





	1. Seer

**Author's Note:**

> \-- There are NO spoilers for ACOSF --
> 
> This is my first fic and I'm so excited to share it!
> 
> It is f*i*l*t*h*y
> 
> I'm already working on part two, which is going to be less smut, more romance. I have a vague idea of a real plot somewhere in there.
> 
> Please let me know what you think!

"Okay Elain, close your eyes and reach into your mind."

It was a warm spring morning and Elain and Azriel were sat crossed legged together in the training ring atop the House of Wind. After much deliberation, Elain had requested to be trained in using her seer abilities.

She acquiesced and turned her thoughts inward. It was difficult at first, the light breeze was sending tendrils of hair tickling across her face and the clanging of practice swords was echoing across from where Rhysand and Cassian sparred a safe distance away.

She scrunched her nose a little, fighting to urge to push her hair back, when a calloused touch sent her jumping half to her feet.

A low chuckle, "Easy. I didn't mean to startle you." Azriel's deft fingers tucked the rebellious strands back into her braid with cool efficieny. She didn't dare open her eyes but felt his breath on her eyelids as he worked. His hands lightly patted her hair down once more before she heard him shift back into position facing her.

She took a steadying breath then dipped into the darkness that pooled in her mind. It seemed to her like a vast, dark lake. Sprawling beneath everything that made her, her. With ghostly fingers she trailed the dark waters before plunging her hand, then her arm beneath the surface. She felt the grip of something other, some deep, churning, otherworldly current grip her whole self and pull her down, down down. She didn't panic, not yet. 

Her mind churned with flashes of light, she felt herself biting her lip and clenching her fists as she was swept away, Azriel's steady breathing and the clunking of of wooden swords swiftly forgotten. The images slowed eventually, and span, a great sense of amusement seemed to swirl around her, as if the Cauldron itself (she flinched slightly at the thought) were toying with her, showing only what It deemed necessary.

The scene was hazy around the edges, and warmth rippled off it. It was an Ilyrian wing, clenched tight but slowly releasing and splaying outward as hands caressed the fine, but heavily scarred, membrane. Two sets of hands, one male and one...female. Somewhere far above, her body flushed. She shifted slightly in her seat and Azriel's low voice drifted to her.

"What do you see? Are you okay?"

He had promised her before they began that she would never have to tell him what she saw if she didn't want to, or if it concerned him. But that his greater knowledge of the world and its people might be a help if she didn't understand what she saw.

"I see an Illyrian." She whispered, feeling the words drift up from where she had sank, to be expelled by her body far, far away.

The hands were kneading now, and the fingers of the male hand flexing in a sensuous way that Elain suspected meant that there was a lot happening beyond her sight. She noted the red stone of the room, the warm glow of a fire somewhere and the dimness of night through the windows. She felt that ripple of...heat again and pulled away, running, up, up, up. She surfaced into the sunlight again with a heaving gasp, spluttering slightly.

Ariel was staring hard, his hand clenching her shoulder. She stared with eyes that weren't quite comprehending, at the unmistable knot of scars near the peak of his left wing. She swallowed, mind whirling. She knew exactly what she had seen. But she didn't want to look at it too closely.

"Was it one of us?" Azriel asked gently, handing her a glass of water carried over from the water station by one of his shadows. They were even more wispy out here in the sun, but he seemed to summon them more when she was around, as if for comfort, or to see her reaction.

She gratefully took the glass and left her fingers linger on his, buried in the shadow wrapped around them. He stilled almost imperceptibly, but she let the cool tickle caress her knuckles, winding between their hands like a cat.

He was the first to pull away. She greedily gulped the water, more to stall for than because of thirst. She lowered the glass and wiped a stray drop from her lower lip. Azriel watched her every move with fierce concentration.

This thing between them had started slowly and neither of them had addressed it yet. He seemed to be waiting for her. She felt torn, so confused. She had clung to his stoic, quiet presence at first. He had just let her be. But now there was a heat there. As if all the long hours of companionable silence, leisurely conversation and the occasional shared joke had been steps in a dance she couldn't hear the music too. 

"He will certainly be okay." She said finally, startled at the coy tone her lips had wrapped around the words.

Azriel quirked an eyebrow and seemed to track her gaze where it had landed again, on that particular crooked scar on his left wing.

"It was me?" He asked quietly, his gaze burning.

Elain considered dodging the question, but nodded.

"What was I doing?" 

She started at the question "I thought you didn't want to know about visions that you were in?"

"You didn't make it sound as if anything bad were happening" he questioned, something teasing in his look now "Was anyone else with me? Or was I alone?"

At his last word, "alone" Elain's traitorous mind summoned an image that she didn't even realise she could envisage and she bit her lip and wrung her hands together before her eyes, traitorously, drifted down to them.

"Were you there?" He pushed, leaning so far forward that he had to flare his wings slightly to keep his balance.

From the corner of her eye she could see Cassian and Rhys trying not to look like they were listening while keeping up a poor, even to her untrained eyes, illusion of sparring. 

"Yes." She breathed at last, so quietly she wasn't sure he had heard.

When she raised her eyes to his again, she sucked in a breath.

He was burning. 

His lips were parted slightly and he was looking at her with unchecked longing. She felt her body react, something waking up beneath her stomach and uncurling delightedly. She swallowed and he watched her throat bob, something predatory now coming into that look.

"There's...there's something else." She rasped, licking her lips. His eyes followed that too, and she realised his hand had come to rest on her thigh. She had barely felt it through the thick leathers she'd squeezed into that morning.

"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow, something she'd seen Rhys do to Feyre a thousand times before they'd disappeared off to their room. Having that sort of look directed at her was a completely different experience. 

Her traitorous fae body reacted again, far more swiftly than her human body had ever responded. His nostrils flared and his breath caught. But Az, ever the gentleman, pulled back and gave her a little space. She could feel her heart racing and knew he sensed it too. His eyes shuttered and she felt her heart break for him, she never, ever wanted him to think she was afraid. Not of him.

"Az," his face softened at his name on her mouth, she had always noticed that he had. She swallowed once more, not sure that she could voice the last, more important and puzzling piece of the vision. ”It-"

"Elain?" He asked at her hesitation. It wasn't often that he spoke her name and she knew it elicited a similar reaction in her, and that he knew it.

"It wasn't just us." She blurted all in a rush. She seized the discarded glass by her leg, just for something to do while his brows knitted together and he contemplated.

A movement by the door to the grounds snapped her attention away, she'd felt the tug all morning but hadn't understood it. Now she leapt to her feet, scrambling a healthy distance from the shadowsinger.

"Lucien Vanserra" Azriel said smartly, rising to his feet in a smooth motion. Rhys and Cassian called greeting from where they were now wrestling, entangled on the ground unable to get up. Elain wrenched her gaze away from the sight and felt more than heard Azriel huff a laugh.

Lucien was striding towards them from the shadow of the staircase. He nodded to Az and the others before offering Elain a neat bow. She inclined her head in return.

His gaze darted between the two of them and she moved a further step away before realising her mistake. 

"What are you two doing?" Lucien asked, a little coldly.

"Training." Azriel answered smoothly.

Lucien eyed the leathers Elain was sporting and to her surprise, she didn't feel embarrassed. She had never worn pants before, and her figure was completely exposed, but the clothes were thick and sturdy. And most surprisingly of all, comfortable. The moment she had shimmied into the skin tight trousers at dawn she had started planning how to incorporate pants and shirts into her wardrobe, how much easier her garden work would be without acres of silk or chiffon flapping around her.

"Elain had a vision" Azriel added, snapping her attention to him. The corner of his mouth curled slightly and she realised the game he was playing.

"A vision?" Lucien asked, warily "Our enemies are on the move?"

"Nothing like that" Azriel replied, and now that she had caught on, Elain could hear the smug male underneath the cool exterior he wore when anyone other than the inner circle was present.

Elain cut him off before he could say more "You were there Lucien" she said brightly.

Azriel half-turned to her, horrorstruck, before he wrenched control back over his features and a shadow wrapped around his ear, whispering to him as she knew they did.

"Me?" Lucien was still a few steps behind, not having caught onto the tension between them.

"Yes" Elain smiled, pulling her attention away from that infernal shadowsinger and giving her friend a full smile. 

The vision of the three of them, entangled, had been a shock. But now confronted with them in full daylight, with her sister's mate within calling distance, she felt bold. She was fond of Lucien, he had been careful with her and only offered kindness. They had come to an agreement to be friends and she had blossomed under it but she knew the mating bond chafed at him, and therefore by extension, chafed at her. 

Lucien was still looking at them cautiously, he offered her a questioning look to which she only smiled brigher. His gazed landed on the empty glass in her hand and, ever the courtier, he offered to refill it for her.

The moment Lucien had turned away, Azriel turned bodily to face Elain, searching her face. She felt her cheeks flush under his scrutiny.

"Truly?" He asked, quieter than the wind.

She nodded, slowly, her head and breasts and limbs feeling heavy as she admitted that secret truth. To her surprise his eyes darkened and her sharpened fae-vision noticed the shift in his stance, the increasing blood flow to his groin and thighs, his mouth drying out and his thoughts drifting. 

"Azriel," she breathed, wonderingly, questioning.

He sucked in his thick lower lip and chewed it for a moment. His gaze was distant and she saw he was looking toward Lucien as he fussed with the taps spouting directly out of the mountain wall.

She followed his look and considered the male, her mate, in his russet hewed emissary get up. The powerful thighs from horseback riding, the delicate hands and wrists and fingers for writing, the smooth tan skin and unbound amber locks. He felt their gaze and slowed as he carried the water back. He had also poured a glass for Azriel who took it with a puzzled expression. 

"Is everything alright?" Lucien asked when the tense silence grew too much.

Elain looked between the two males, considering, before she answered. Azriel was all muscle and tattoos and wings. Night personified. Lucien was a crackling fire, warm and full of sparks, if a still a little jumpy around the denizens of the Night Court.

"Elain is considering taking us to her bed" Azriel drawled and she realised she'd let the silence go on too long with the lustful thoughts crowding her mind.

She opened her mouth to protest but a hulking shadow fell out of the sky at that moment, startling them all and smashing the tension.

"I think training is over for today" Rhys said smoothly, scooping Elain into his arms before shooting into the sky. 

Once they were soaring high over Velaris he spoke

"Did I hear what I think I heard?" He asked, seeming embarrassed at his inability to be eloquent for once.

Elain chuckled, still a little in a shock at the turn her day had taken.

"I see." He murmured, eyebrows raised, "If you want to stay with us tonight you are more than welcome."

She considered. She loved the river estate, and Nuala and Cerridwen would be there. 

"I'll stay for dinner, if that's alright"

"Of course" the high lord replied, sweeping them in low to alight at last on the lawn of the manor.

Dinner was lovely, as always. She and Feyre chatted about the city, her painting, the gardens, the upcoming celebrations in the city. Rhys brooded over a mound of paperwork next to his plate but spared his mate plenty of kisses and secret smiles. Elain felt giddy with the wine and the happiness that came off them on waves.

Nuala was helping her into her coat in the hallway when Feyre emerged, flushed and happy from the lounge where they had retired after dinner. 

"Elain" she smiled, "let me take you back up"

"Are you sober enough for that?" Elain blurted before she could help herself. After a pause the sisters dissolved into giggles. Nuala offered them an indulgent, knowing smile before drifting backwards through the staircase into the kitchen beyond. 

They stepped outside and Feyre clasped her arms around her smaller sister. 

"Rhys told me about your vision" she murmured as they were launched up into the sky by the powerful wings she had summoned "at least, what he could glean from your conversation with Az."

"Your mate is such a busybody" Elain teased, tipsy enough to be beyond blushing.

Feyre laughed "Oh I know. But, please, Elain, if you need me, or Rhys, or Mor" she added with emphasis "to come and get you away from those randy males, just call out in your mind. Me or Rhys will hear." She looked at her sister lovingly and with a little pride "But if you don't need rescuing, then you have far surpassed Nesta and me by bringing two Fae males to heel."

Elain laughed again, feeling so much freer and lighter than she had in weeks, months. 

"Thank you sister. I don't know what I'll do yet, but I know you're there if I need you. And Nesta, although I daren't tell her. I'm not sure she'd leave either of them in one piece."

"No," Feyre replied, "I don't think she would." 

When they landed on the usual balcony at the House something seemed to amuse Feyre but she said nothing, only giving Elain a quick peck on the cheek and a wink before plummeting back over the edge. Elain rested her arms on the ledge and savoured the view for a moment. She still hadn't changed out of her leathers, finding them far too comfortable, but she admitted now that she missed the tangle of a breeze around her skirts and hair raising on her bare arms. 

She looked down at the complicated ties on her vest and tugged fruitlessly at the longest cord. The knots shifted and she looked at the pattern, trying to discern it and coming up short. 

"I can help you with that" a voice said from behind her.

Elain stilled, heat pooling in her core at the tone. She didn't turn but inclined her head in invitation.

A warm, solid body stepped up behind her and thick arms came around her sides. Scarred hands gently landed on her own fingers and showed her the corrects knots to pull and untangle, tugging and unthreading until too late, she remembered that she only wore a simple shift underneath.

Azriel's hands stilled at the first glimpse of pale flesh, her breasts hidden only by a pale blue satin sheath. She made to turn in his arms but another's step behind them halted her. Lucien appeared at the balcony beside her and her heart sped, how would he react to this, the mating bond could be volatile, everyone had warned her. As if he sensed her thoughts he shook his head and smiled, before turning fully to face her. Azriel turned also, his body so flush to her that she was caught between them, Night at her back and Flames before her.

She swallowed nervously and found that her mouth had gone dry.

"You're both here" she said lamely.

Something rumbled in Azriel's chest and through her where their bodies touched

"We talked" he said in a low voice 

"Oh?" She squeaked

Lucien shuffled a step closer, so that one deep breath from either of them would have her barely covered breasts touching his chest. His met Azriel's eyes over her head and both males seemed to still 

"We came to an agreement" Lucien replied, his voice low with heat

Elain waited, almost panting, her body was hot and cold and something was pulsing low in her core.

"We decided," Azriel murmured, tugging her hair away for her neck while his other hand settled on her hip. He lowered his mouth until she felt his warm breath on her neck, trickling down into the llyrian vest that was unbound and open on her chest "that you can have both of us."

Elain felt her core go molten at his words and her nipples peaked, pressing almost painfully into the leather where it hung. Azriel lowered his lips to her skin and pressed a kiss where her neck became her shoulder. Lucien's eye was staring hard at the point where Azriel's lips touched her and he didn't seem to be breathing.

"Lucien?" Elain managed to gasp, she could barely stop herself from pressing back into the hard warmth of Azriel's groin where it just barely brushed her ass.

Lucien gazed at her then, taking her all in. Her wild eyes, panting mouth, breasts peaked and barely covered by the uniform of his sometime enemy. He gaze lowered to where she knew he could scent her arousal and he seemed to gather himself 

"If you want him and not me, Elain, I will leave now and never return." She felt an ache in her chest at his words, both of their pain rattling along the bond "But if you want me, and you want him, then...I would be honoured to join you."

Elain let him take her in for one more long moment, picturing herself through his eyes, another male wrapped around her, kissing her throat while his hand traced the band of her pants. Her ragged breath, breasts straining, desire leaking out of her.

Then she reached out a hand, tucked it into his belt, and tugged him closer.

When Lucien was stood close enough that the heat of the two males cocooning her was almost too much, when sweat began to prickle her skin, she raised her head, tipped back, and pressed her lips to her mate's own.

Lucien moaned into her mouth, a year of repressed emotion and lust releasing at her boldness. When she parted her lips his tongue swept in, tasting her and his hands began to roam. She felt his knuckles collide with Azriel's and heard them both huff a laugh. She didn't know what they had discussed, how much they had discussed, how far this was going to go. But right now she didn't care.

She pushed her tongue against Lucien's and his hands went wild, tangling in her hair and finally, tugging the leathers down from her shoulders, freeing her breasts and rubbing one straining nipple between nimble fingers. Azriel's free hand soon found the other, while his other hand began to untie the laces on her pants, the contrast of his callouses on her skin against Lucien's softness blew all thought out of her head.

One hand was still wrapped around Lucien's belt and she tugged him closer again, while her other crept behind and stroked Azriel's hardness where it pressed into her ass, straining against his own leathers. He growled into her ear and she felt him twitch in her hand.

The three of them were pressed together tightly, only the stone balcony between them and the drop below. Elain opened her eyes and gazed across at the city, they were completely exposed if any had eyes to see this far and the thought flushed heat through her entire body. Her breasts were completely out now, the vest shed to the floor and her slip tucked around her waist. Two hands kneaded and pinched her hardened nipples and the sight of two handsome, glorious males working her sent a guttural moan up her throat. The males chuckled together and their eyes met above where they were playing with her.

"You two" Elain whispered and they knew what she meant.

They removed their hands and mouth from her skin and she shivered at the sudden coolness. But the males had fire in their eyes as they locked and she shivered with something entirely different. She stepped away a little, to catch her breath and enjoy the look of these two, warriors from opposite sides, entirely different backgrounds, even how they looked and dressed was a contrast. They circled each other sightly, seeming more like they might fight than make love.

Elain found her fingers drifting along her stomach. Azriel had made fine work of the fastenings on her pants but hadn't lowered his hand any further. Both males spiked their gaze to her as the dipped her fingers below her own waistband and leaned back against the stone balcony as her fingers became slick with her own arousal. 

"You two" she reminded them. Thoughts of the long months of painful, lust-filled looks from Lucien, and slow building heat with Azriel drove her as she dipped her fingers lower again, feeling her own folds wet and humming. She males seemed frozen, mouths hanging open, arousal plain in their tight-fitting pants. She dropped her gaze pointedly, one to the other and back again. Lucien stirred first and stepped forward, closing the gap they had made between one another as soon as Elain had slipped aside.

He looked at Azriel nervously as he reached the shadowsinger and tentatively reach out to the male's clothes. Azriel nodded, gaze fastened on Elain and her slowly stroking fingers, as Lucien tugged his shirt from out of his pants and lifted it over the bigger male's head. Azriel's attention finally seemed to shift and Elain remembered how her own clothes had felt chafing against her hot skin. As he lowered his arms again and Lucien tossed the shirt aside, Azriel braced his hand on Lucien's hips and lowered his head. 

Elain's fingers slipped against that most sensitive spot as the two males kissed, she saw Azriel's tongue slip into Lucien's mouth and a moan escaped her as she pressed hungrily against that bundle of nerves. Both males smiled at the sound and kissed again, harder, hands tearing at clothes and removing weapons she hadn't even realised they were carrying. Her own Illyrian pockets had remained empty save a dandelion she had plucked that afternoon and three boiled sweets she'd swiped from the kitchen. 

Lucien's shirt was off now and his unmarked skin was a pretty contrast to Azriel's winding tattoos. He fumbled with the Ilyrian fastenings at Azriel's waist before huffing a frustrated sigh and getting to his knees to more closely examine the work. Azriel and Elain purred simultaneously at the sight and Lucien smiled.

"You like this?" He asked them both, gesturing at the delicious image he had made. Elain nodded dreamily, even though she'd never felt more awake. Lucien paused his fumbling to slowly, luxuriously stroke Azriel's length where it strained against the fabric. Azriel tipped back his head and growled, his throat illuminated in the moonlight. Elain's eyes danced over their glowing bodies as Lucien stroked him one more, while his other hand deftly worked the knots. He finally tugged the last cord out of the way and the full length of Azriel sprang free. Elain gulped and Lucien softly swore. He tugged Azriel's pants down to his ankles, where he stepped out of them, then looked to Elain for a cue.

Feeling devilish, she shrugged and grinned, happy to tease herself for the time being while the males played.

Lucien turned back to the shadowsinger who sensed his hesitation and returned the favour of stripping him out of his clothes. They were both naked, Elain the only one still moderately covered. And where they stood together, at attention, gleaming tips almost brushing, her focus zeroed in on that point and a hunger she had never known before took over. 

Elain shimmied out of the tight fitting trousers and boots, the scrape of the fabric down her skin making her want to claw at the two beautiful naked males in front of her. They in turn, were watching her greedily. Azriel's hand drifted towards his hard member and without seeming to be conscious of it he gave himself a hard stroke, from root to tip. 

Elain stalked towards them in that sultry way she'd seen other females do and saw Lucien's knees wobble, his throbbing sword pulsing with renewed desire. 

She stood between then, almost close enough to touch, and raised a finger.

"Eeny" she pointed to Azriel, brushed his pectoral muscle and delighted in the answering shiver.  
"Meeny" now Lucien, down the V shaped muscle at his waist, alreading know the result of this human game the Fae had clearly never encountered.  
"Miney" Azriel, he seemed to know the result and his eyes shifted to Lucien.  
"Mo" she was on him before he could react. Lucien growled into her mouth as she pressed a hungry kiss to him, tasting the shadowsinger's salt and sulphur on his tongue. She slipped her hand down between them and wrapped her hand around his silken shaft, pumped it immediately and felt him shudder. Azriel had pressed in from behind and his need poked at her, almost dipping into her wetness, but not yet.

She drew out the kiss with Lucien, his hands roaming her body, Azriel fondling whatever he could reach. She was sandwiched between them again but this time there were no clothes, only skin and sweat and lust.

Lucien had backed up against the mountain wall, they were next to the glass doors leading to the dining hall and Elain spared a delighted glance at their reflection. She was a radiant goddess being worshipped all over but she needed more, more.

She dropped to her knees and Azriel swayed where he had been leaning into her. He recovered quickly and she saw him steal a kiss from Lucien once more. She considered the shaft before her face and pressed a loving kiss to the tip. Lucien bucked and moaned above her, quickly silenced by Az's demanding nips and kisses. She licked the pearl that had squeezed out at her touch and savoured the salty taste. Maybe her males weren't all that different. 

She licked her lips and considered the length in front of her once more. She lowered her mouth but before she could take him his voice stopped her

"Elain" Lucien said roughly, she looked up. Azriel slowly stroking himself while trailing kissing along Lucien's throat. Lucien looked lost in a fog of lust but cleared his throat and met her eyes "We" he and Azriel "are here for you. You don't need to pleasure me like this." He looked a little overwhelmed and the shadowsinger laughed.

"Am I not to your liking after all, emissary?"

Only Elain heard the hurt under the words.

But Lucien surprised them both, with a simmering anger not directed at them, but at someone, something distant, he said "We are here for my lady, shadowsinger, you can fuck me after."

Azriel paused at the words, then with one more kiss on his throat, that promised more, later, he pulled away and let Lucien heave a breath. 

Azriel took Elain's hand, tugged her up from where that delicious cock still beckoned to be sucked, and pulled her through the doors to the dining hall. Lucien followed looking half startled at his words, and perhaps a desire he hadn't known he'd possessed.

"Where do you want her?" Azriel asked Lucien, lightly clasping Elain's hand as if they weren't all naked and were merely meeting for afternoon tea.

Lucien didn't answer but his eyes darted to the table and his throat bobbed.

Azriel clapped his hands on Elain's waist and had spun her up and around in a flash. He set he gently on the wood and she wriggled in place, feeling the roughness on her ass and thighs. Azriel stepped back with a tiny bow and gestured Lucien forward.

Elain met Az's eyes and they danced with job even as her mate stepped between her thighs and trailed his smooth hands over her skin once more. She smiled at Lucien and tipped her head back, exposing her throat and spreading her thighs at little wider, completely exposed. She wondered dimly if she'd be horrified at her behaviour in the morning, then smugly told herself that it really all depended on the performance of her lovers

Lucien asked what she was thinking in a murmur and she told them as much. He seemed to lighten at that, she knew he was weighing the weight of the bond against what was about to happen, wondering if he, if they, could handle it. Azriel was sinking into the shadows against the wall as the two mates stared at each other, silently conferring. But Lucien caught him and ordered

"Don't go anywhere shadowsinger. You're the one who got us into this with your prying. You're going to stay and play with us." His voice was low and husky and he again seemed surprised at his own boldness. Azriel seemed delighted and stepped forward once more, stepping around the other side of the table so that she was once more between them.

Elain thrummed with excitement and renewed wetness pooled out of her.

Lucien inhaled deep "I love that smell." 

Elain laughed and drew her hands over herself, catching his own from her ribs and trailing it down her stomach, down, down.

Lucien's breath hitched and he moaned low and long as his fingers finally entered that secret place. He traced her outline, coating himself, before raising the stained fingers to his face, inhaling and then sucking them gently, one by one. 

Elain's head was swimming, heady with desire. How long would they tease each other. She might had asked the question out loud for Lucien caught her lips with his own and bit down and his fingers dived between her legs once more.

She arched her back, and Azriel was there, stroking and rubbing her tender muscles, cupping her breast and raising it for Lucien to nip and suck. His fingers were thrumming a rhythm inside her, his thumb circling that tight spot at her apex. She had been aroused for so long, all day really, that she knew a release was coming fast. 

Azriel was biting her ear lobe, Lucien her lip, hands squeezing her breasts, thumb pressing hard into her centre when the release barrelled out of her with a ragged scream. The wood of the table groaned beneath her clenched thighs as she bucked, Lucien pumping faster as she poured onto him until she was spent.

She breathed heavy, chest heaving, as her peak ebbed away. Lucien's sticky hand was no longer inside her but tracing errrant circles on her thigh as she gathered her ragged thoughts. Azriel had stilled behind her but she could feel his heat still ready and waiting.

With little effort, she locked her knees around Lucien and tugged him to her, until his gleaming tip was pressing against her entrance.

"Are you sure?" He asked, although his glazed eyes suggested an answer in the negative was unthinkable.

"Fuck me" she begged and that was all of took. He slipped into her at once and she groaned at the feel of being full of him at last. He renewed his attention on her breasts and Elain twisted her head to find Azriel staring down at their joined bodies with savage need. 

"Don't think I've forgotten about you" she crooned, twisting her head and tugging him down so their mouth met in a clash of teeth and tongue.

Azriel sighed into her mouth and she snaked her arm around to pump him where he pressed into her. He gripped her arms with his huge hands and thrust into her palm. Lucien was watching them with his mouth open while he hammered into her and when his eyes met theirs he slowed, pulling almost entirely out before sheathing himself, achingly, to the hilt once more. 

"You're her mate" Azriel offered to the question Lucien seemed to be asking with his eyes. Elain understood without needing to ask, this ridiculous fae dominance, even with both their cocks out there was still a question of who would spill in her first. 

A wicked, disgusting though occurred to her then and she tugged Azriel further round so that he was now at her side.

"A race then? Or rather an endurance test?" Were her only words before she plunged Azriel deep into her mouth, her throat and wrapped her tongue around his length. Lucien seemed startled and renewed his pumping, Azriel only grinned and wrapped his hand around the back of her head.

She pumped him once with her mouth, lightly grazing her teeth around his tip, and saw some of that sardonic control unravel. She sucked hard, hollowing her cheeks and he wavered, barriers crashing down in his eyes. She passed her eyes over to Lucien, even as he was still in her mouth and stroked her hand down his chest, circling muscles and raising goosebumps on the pale flesh.

Azriel growled predatorily and she licked him again. Lucien slammed into her deeper than before and she grunted, then his fingers returned to her core and began their magical twirling on that one electric spot. 

Azriel's own hand drifted downward as well, though there was hardly a place to put it with Lucien's pounding and teasing, Elain's fingers caressing his muscular abdomen and her own contortion to face Azriel's girth. She continued to lick and suck, and bobbed her head back and forth. His eyes were clenched tight, his head on her hand solid and unyielding. She felt swelling in her, Lucien going faster and grunting. She slitted her eyes downward once more and saw that Azriel's hand was wrapped around Lucien's shaft, holding the base where it slammed into her, flexing and squeezing in time with the rhythm she and Lucien were writhing to.

Lucien saw her gaze and renewed his twirling on her bundle of nerves, everything was building. Fire was burning in her centre, spreading to her thighs, Lucien was gasping as he fucked her, Azriel clenching him and filling her throat.

Elain's release roared through her at last, her thighs clenched spectacularly around Lucien's waist causing him to yell as he spilled into her, leaking over Azriel's broad fingers where it trickled out of her. Her whole body quaked with their mutual climax and her lips clamped down on Azriel in her mouth, he shuddered and pulled on her head, choking her as he silently had his own eruption. 

Elain felt him spurting into her throat and greedily swallowed every drop, gulping it down, eyes streaming. He slowly pulled out of her, leaving his seed dripping down her lips, then crushed a kiss to her face, hands still on both of them. Elain felt an easing below and saw Lucien slipping himself free, his juices and hers mingling on Azriel's dangling hand.

She smiled at Lucien cheekily, a dare, and his eyes gleamed as he leant forward for a swift kiss. She raised Azriel's hand between them while the three were still close enough to share breath and, with their staring eyes on her, licked his fingers clean. Then wickedly, kissed them both on the lips once more.

She could taste them, all three of them, on her tongue and the aroma of their mingled scents filled her nose and made her head swim. 

Remembering her vision, she raised hers and Lucien's hand where they had become entwined, and reached behind the shadowsinger to where his dark wings were tucked tight. The fire none of them hand noticed crackled in the grate and Elain gazed around the red-walled room, a deep satisfaction unspooling inside her.

At the first stroke of her fingernail Azriel sucked in a sharp breath, and she felt his cock switch against her once more. She splayed out her hands and Lucien followed suit, tracing the whorl of veins and old scars. 

Yes, she thought, I can handle this. My mate and my friend, now my lovers. With a whole mountain around them to fuck in and a whole immortal life span ahead to enjoy. 

She didn't let herself think about explaining this to the others, what Nesta would think, how Cassian would tease. Mor, there was still something unfinished there, but Azriel had chosen her this day. Chosen her and her mate, and her mate had chosen them back, because somehow in the long year since Hybern these bonds had become unbreakable, these ties deep in their foundations.

She looked at the two males and they gazed lustily at each other, and at her, their fingers rubbing skin, threading through hair and and tracing wings. Suddenly immortality didn't seem so bad.


	2. Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three lovers spend the day apart, musing over their new situations. Elain confronts her sisters.
> 
> A promise is made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Why is it so easy to write smut but not the parts in between?! 
> 
> I love these angels so much.
> 
> Chapter 3 will have a Lucien X Azriel scene so check back soon ;-)
> 
> **There are a couple of teeny tiny ACOSF easter eggs but you won't pick them up if you haven't read it, I promise. A cookie to whoever can spot all three!**

The next morning the sun had barely alighted on their tangled limbs when Azriel stirred and grumpily mumbled 

"Go away."

Elain shifted at the sound and her eyes flew open when he hissed

"Yes, sorry. High lord." She looked over to see him gritting his teeth and clutching his forehead. 

He rolled his eyes at her look then nudged Lucien with his foot.

"Lucien, get up."

Lucien groaned and twitched but didn't move. Azriel smiled and pinched Lucien's buttock where it was exposed almost in his lap.

"Lucien, Rhys is coming for you in an hour."

At that, Lucien jerked awake and struggled to sit up, extricating himself from their pile with some difficulty.

"Sorry lovelies, duty calls." Azriel purred, eyeing the view as Lucien hopped around with one foot tangled. Az glanced at Elain and she realised he meant all of them.

"Even me?" She squeaked a little nervously.

"Rhys will come for Lucien, I'm to drop you at the manor then go to Windhaven with Cassian." He said kindly, tugging his own shirt on. "Those are my pants Lucien" he drawled without looking back.

"Oh" Lucien flushed. They were two sizes too big on him but Elain felt a flutter as she eyed him.

"Black looks good on you." she called.

Lucien smirked then slipped out of Azriel's pants, they exchanged the correct clothes and Elain reluctantly scooped a dress off the nearby chair. 

"Do you think we should...discuss things before we part ways today?" Lucien asked tentatively "I might be gone for a few days if it's business below the wall."

Elain looked at the two males who were eyeing her and each other. She flushed as images from the night before flickered through her mind. There wasn't a clean surface left in the room, or on her body. 

"I suppose we should set some rules." she said finally.

Azriel quirked an eyebrow "Rules?"

"Well, I, that's not just me being boring Elain is it?" She blurted "There are three of us, that means things are different."

"You are certainly not boring, Elain." Lucien said, with a blush.

"I didn't know you were a wildcat waiting to spring" Azriel gloated, running a hand down her cheek, he glanced at Lucien "the wildcat and the fox, what does that make me?"

Lucien gulped. 

"I should bathe," Elain gasped suddenly, she looked frantically at the two males "We all stink don't we?" She still wasn't quite accustomed to using her new sense of smell and couldn't discern what different odours meant, and which scent belonged to whom. "They'll know, everyone will know. We're all over each other."

She struggled off the dress she'd only just put on and stalked into the bathroom. The sunken tub was already full and steaming, courtesy of the house, and she gratefully sank into it. 

The males had followed, sharing bemused glances.

"Elain are you alright?" Lucien asked tentatively.

"Oh yes. Of course! I'm just sweaty and I need to bathe." She was flustered and needed a moment to calm her racing breath "Are you okay? Gods, are both of you okay? Was...was what we did okay?" Was it good, she wanted to ask.

Lucien stilled, considered the question carefully. Azriel waited, eyes on the other male. Lucien looked Elain over, what he could see above the bubbles, then met Azriel's eyes. The two males stared each other down for a long moment and Elain wasn't sure if she imagined a heat rising between them.

Eventually Lucien shook himself and smiled "Yes I'm okay. Last night was...not something I ever could have expected. Not something I ever imagined for myself. It's very new. But I enjoyed myself. Very much." The last few words were only a whisper.

Azriel nodded "Likewise."

Elain waited a beat then "Likewise? That's it?"

He smiled, slow and wide, taking them both in "That's it."

"All right" she huffed "but yes, we need to discuss it I suppose."

Azriel shucked off his pants in one smooth movement and lowered himself into the tub next to her just as smoothly.

Elain stared at him for a moment then looked up at Lucien 

"I suppose you'd better get in."

He complied.

As it turned out, an hour wasn't nearly long enough. By the time they had each washed each other, kissed and flirted until the water went cold and almost all the bubbles were gone, by the time Azriel had taken Elain from behind, bent over Lucien's lap while he stroked himself, their time was almost up and no rules had been set.

Rhys hollered from the hallway while Elain and Azriel both were tugging Lucien's clothes away even as he tried to fasten them. All three were stumbling around like they were drunk and Rhys soon sent a thrum of dark power under the door to give them all a light slap around the head and a final warning that he'd drag the males out naked and throw them over the balcony if need be.

They finally lined up like chastised children in the corridor as Rhys strode back and forth before them. His nostrils flared and he rubbed his face irritably before nodding Lucien out to the balcony. 

"Elain?" He asked gently, ignoring the shadowsinger looming at her side.

"Everything is fine." she replied, smiling reassuringly.

He nodded once, briefly met Azriel's eyes then strode down to meet Lucien outside.

Elain made to walk but Az stilled her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked questioningly up at him but he jerked his head to the glass doors.

Rhys still looked irritated but he clapped Lucien on the back, not unkindly but perhaps harder than necessary.

"I could give you a lecture, I suppose" he started, then shook his head "but I won't. All I'll say is that's my sister and my brother in there. If you fuck it up, it won't just be me you answer to."

Lucien shivered slightly.

"Welcome to the family, emissary."

The leapt into the sky and Elain turned to see a delicate smile playing across Azriel's face.

As they swept down towards the manor, Elain spied their next challenge waiting on the front step with crossed arms.

Azriel landed and she squeezed his fingers tightly before stepping away. Mor tilted her head to Elain with a soft look in her eyes as she scurried past with a quiet hello.

Elain clicked the door shut and gently leant back against it. She didn't want to spy, but...

"I'm not...I'm not angry." Mor started, then huffed in frustration "I'm not anything." She seemed to be pacing back and forth "You didn't belong to me and I didn't belong to you, but I know I kept you on this...leash. I kept this hold on you, I used you as a crutch. And this isn't how I wanted to finally voice it. I was working up to it, you know. You can ask Feyre. I was finally getting ready to cut you loose." She sighed again "Gods, I'm saying this all wrong. If you're happy, I'm happy. That's it. Don't feel like you owe me anything, any explanation, because you don't. No more than you owe Cassian or Amren."

Azriel murmured a reply that Elain couldn't hear and she finally looked at the hall before her to realise Cassian was ten paces away with a huge grin on his face. 

She laughed and he barrelled forward to sweep her into a bear hug. He kissed her swiftly on each cheek and grinned once more before opening the front door and leaving. Elain glimpsed enough before it closed to see Azriel and Mor embracing and then she headed to the reception room where she knew Feyre would be.

Feyre was sat behind the huge desk she shared with Rhys and rose at once when Elain entered. She hugged and kissed her also, like they hadn't just seen each other yesterday, then ushered her into a chair.

Before Elain could say a word, Feyre gestured to a stoppered glass bottle and said  
"You'll need to drink that, if you want to."

Elain started and grabbed the bottle, unstoppering it and gulping it down quickly.

"Gods, I hadn't even thought about it."

"I'll send a crate up to the House" Feyre smiled with a wave of her hand.

"Thank you." She twisted her hands in her lap nervously "It feels like I'm facing a stern parent everywhere I go today, I'm not sure I can face anyone else."

Feyre startled her with a wheezing laugh and Elain saw with surprise that tears were streaming down her face

"Can you imagine" she gasped "the look on Father's face? His precious little Elain!"

Elain considered for a moment then laughed with her sister. That wound wasn't quite healed yet but, yes, she could imagine that he would be horrified. Not disgusted, but he certainly wouldn't want to know anymore than he had to.

Feyre recovered at last and Elain curiously asked

"How did everyone know? So fast I mean? You didn't...you didn't tell them?"

"Oh! No Elain, of course not, not before I knew what you had decided."

"Then how-?"

At this Feyre blushed, furiously.

"There was an impromptu gathering here last night, not business, it just sort of happened. And Rhys, ah, cast his attention over to see if you were...available."

Elain groaned and covered her face.

"He choked on his wine" Feyre continued matter of factly "and spewed it all over Amren."

"Amren." Elain repeated, horrified.

"Cassian guessed enough that he blurted a rather disgusting innuendo about what you might be, um, up to."

"Gods." Elain moaned, curling in over herself.

"I think Amren's rage at her dress being soaked was the only thing that stopped Nesta from exploding." Feyre finished with a chuckle.

"It's not funny." Elain said

"No, but you should know by now that anyone's business is everyone's business in this family." Feyre replied, placing a reassuring hand gently on her shoulder.

"Right." Elain replied, still feeling a little nauseous.

Feyre glanced at the clock on the wall next to the desk.

"I really have to run Elain, it's Ressina's day off today. Will you be alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. People keep asking me that, but last night, it was..."

"You don't have to tell me, or Nesta for that matter, but if you want to you know we'll listen."

"You both know what a Fae male is like in bed, you don't need to hear it. They're your friends, Feyre, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"They're my friends, yes" she laughed, "but you're my sister first. If you want to tell me, I'll gladly listen. Two males..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

Elain chuckled, "Go. I've got a busy day too you know."

Feyre smiled again, then hurried out of the room. Elain heard the front door click shut and sat for a moment longer, savoring the satisfied aches in her body and the thrum of content that was still warming her blood.

She pushed out of the chair after a minute, and strolled down to the little room she had acquisitioned near the rear door. It was tiled and kept spotless by the wraiths, but she had affectionately titled it the Mud Room, for it was where she went after her gardening, to wash up and change.

She surveyed the hanging dresses and chewed her fingernail. After a day of leather pants yesterday they looked silly, frivolous.

She let her feet instead take her to the kitchen where her two friends were preparing a fruit salad and and a pie.

"Mmm, looks delicious." she said by way of greeting.

The wraiths started at her entrance and swept toward her, embracing her far more enthusiastically than usual.

"What was that for?" Elain asked happily as they drifted back to their stations.

The twins looked at one another before Cerridwen answered

"The shadows sing." She said mysteriously.

"They sing?" Elain asked, plucking a grape from the salad Nuala was slicing and biting into it.

Nuala smiled and reached out her hand, a tendril of shadow extended from her fingertip and wavered through the air towards Elain. It slid around her ear, tickling, and when it stilled, she heard it.

Elain breathed a quiet sigh and closed her eyes. It was beautiful. Not quite music, but a long note, like someone had hit a chime or a series of chimes and the sound hadn't yet died. She felt the shadow retract back to its mistress and met the wraith's eyes.

"It sings." she confirmed.

The twins grinned again and nodded happily. 

Elain smiled with them before making her requests. She would have searched herself but didn't want to enter the high lord and lady's chamber without their permission.

The twins vanished as one and reappeared with the items she'd requested. A pair of leggings and a panelled tunic to go over them, so that her legs would be free but still with a degree of modesty. She thanked them profusely, promised to help in the kitchen soon, and returned to her changing room.

She slipped off the delicate yellow gown she had grabbed that morning and in the brief window of nakedness a shadow curled from beneath a pair of gloves on the low bench and gently wrapped around her ankle.

Elain giggled as it wound higher, gently slapping it away when it reached perilously close to the apex of her thighs. The shadow dissipated and she snarled

"Snoop!" Before slipping her new clothes on. She hadn't thought to ask for different shoes but dug out a pair of dusty navy blue slippers that would suffice.

She started her day clipping the hedges of the estate's sweeping lawn. But there was really very little to do with the combination of Rhys' power and the wraiths untiring willingness to work. Afterwards, there were many gardens in the city she tended. Some owners had hired her for the honour of having the high lady's sister in their grounds, some because they wanted to be taught how to coax the life from the earth, and some because they simply didn't have the time themselves and wanted a pleasant space to enjoy in the rare quiet moment.

Elain loved all the gardens equally. Some were small, some large, some plain and some a riot of colour. It kept her busy and lessened the guilt of taking Rhysand's money, not that she had much to spend it on besides seeds and the occasional new tool.

It was almost time for a break when she found her thoughts drifting once more, to the night before, the many hands on her skin, in her most intimate places. She remembered Azriel's teeth and lips, Lucien's soft and clever fingers. Her eyes shuttered closed as that heady lust crept back in and 

"Ouch!" Her trowel had slipped and caught her thumb. The cut wasn't deep but with the fae healing she should wash it out quickly. She got to her feet and hurried to the little water fountain off to her right. She was about to put her hand under the stream when her head suddenly rushed, her chest tightened and twin streams of thought seemed to slam into her.

At first she thought it was a vision and her breath caught, but then she recoginsed the feelings swarming her: concern, love, panic. She shoved her hand into the cold water, chest heaving at what she now suspected. Her breathing slowed as the water ran clean and the cut closed itself. She glanced up at the clock tower that rose high above this district, then swiftly gathered her things and hurried toward her sister's studio.

Feyre was just finishing up with the children when Elain crashed through the door. Several of the children flinched at the clatter and she apologised profusely, assuring them that she had only tripped. They filed out looking a little startled and once the door had clicked shut, Feyre rushed towards her.

"What is it?" She demanded.

Elain sobbed and gestured to her chest, as if she could seize the invisible rope there.

"Lucien?" Feyre urged, " He's hurt?"

"No" Elain blurted "I was hurt." She waved her hand around, pointlessly, now that there was no sign whatsoever of the cut "I was hurt and I felt them." She waved at her chest again.

Feyre's eyes widened "Them?"

Her eyes flickered and Elain knew she was conferring with Rhys.

"Can I use the library?" She whispered, now in a heap on the floor.

Feyre looked at her pityingly "Are those my clothes? Rhys is already looking."

"Now?” Elain gasped, "He's the high lord, don't trouble him with this."

Feyre pulled her back to her feet "He already suspected this morning. Clotho is already searching and will send any relevant material to us. No one has heard of a-" she hesitated "a three person mating bond."

Elain moaned. Could this day have any more bombshells? 

Feyre chewed her cheek and looked Elain up and down then frowned. Elain could tell that they were still conferring.

"That's quite irritating sometimes you know."

Feyre ignored the jab "Rhys says your seer ability falls under daemati territory, magic-wise. Could you try and see the bond, maybe, so we know what we're dealing with."

Elain rankled at the negative implication in Feyre's tone but reasoned that she had just stumbled in frantic and sobbing.

Feyre made a brushing off motion, as if she were telling Rhys to be quiet for a moment. Then she met her sister's eyes, serious.

"When I see the bond between Rhys and I, it's a huge bridge. Dark, unbreakable. And I know that Home is at the other end. It's in my chest, in my head, in my soul. Just try and look inside, like your seer training."

"I only got the one lesson." Elain grumbled, but did as she was bid. She sank into that deep place, looking this time, for something else. It was there alright. Strung taught over the dark lake of her Cauldron-born powers was a glowing bond.

"I see it" she breathed.

"What does it look like?" Feyre asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.

"It's us. A leafy vine, a golden rope, a string of shadow. Wrapped all together." Elain felt distant tears streak down her face.

"Rhys says," Feyre hesitated, waiting for clarification "Um, is it one or two bonds? Are there two going in different directions, or one that branches?"

Elain let her mind drift out over the dark water, using the rope as a guide. Eventually she came to a gleaming, brighter spot where the rope seamlessly split into two.

"It branches." she breathed in wonder, caressing this miracle with ghostly fingers. 

"Are they the same?"

"Yes."

"Does one feel...nicer than the other?"

Elain opened her eyes at that and was immediately back in her body.

"Who wants to know, you or Rhysand?"

Feyre had the grace to look guilty "That one was me."

Elain didn't deign to answer.

"Rhys says could you please ask Lucien, when you see him next, if he was able to see the bond like that, if he ever examined it before."

"Why?" Elain asked, not seeing the connection.

"Well we don't know if Azriel was already tied in before, or if he was brought in when the two of you...accepted him last night."

"He didn't use the word 'accepted' did he." Elain replied, drily.

Feyre grimaced "No, he didn't."

The sisters parted ways once more with promises to at least try and go a day without some drama coming up. Elain steeled herself as she drifted in the direction of Nesta's, and now Cassian's, apartment.

She stopped on the way to buy them both an enormous carton of fried chicken and noodles, with an extra portion of spicy sauce for Nesta.

Nesta wrenched the door open at her knock, a snarl already on her lips, but immediately brightened when she saw the food.

"Oh, great, I'm starving!" She grabbed the boxes unceremoniously and sniffed greedily.

Elain chuckled and let herself the rest of the way into the apartment. It hadn't changed much since Cassian had moved in, except that there were now more weapons strewn about. A light breeze tickled the sheer curtains through the open windows, and somewhere incense was burning.

Elain gingerly removed a spiked ball and chain from the chair at the table and opened her own lunch.

The sisters ate companionably for a while, Nesta darting furtive glances when Elain wasn't looking. When they had scraped up the last of the food, rinsed the containers and had sat back down with a pitcher of cool water between them, Nesta dared,

"So how was it?"

Elain spluttered, "I don't really need to tell you do I?"

"I can't say I've ever thought of Lucien that way, but I've certainly imagined Azriel." Nesta mused, tracing the rim of her glass with a pointed fingernail.

Elain growled, shocking herself.

Nesta just laughed. 

"I'll keep my hands to myself, don't worry" she purred. Then, serious "You took the tonic?"

Elain flapped her hand dismissively "Yes, Feyre saw to it."

"Good." Nesta gulped her water and stretched.

"You're not...angry?" Elain squeaked.

"I did my breathing exercises." Nesta chuckled "But no, it's your life. You're strong enough now that I don't need to hover over you. And I've got too much going on in my own life to do it anymore."

Elain stuck out her tongue at that and the sisters smiled at each other. 

Elain breathed a sigh of relief as she walked to her next job. That was... almost everyone. She supposed Amren and Cassian weren't really her responsibility to explain it all to. And Lucien didn't really have anyone to tell. That made her frown, startling a passing nymph with her ferocity.

*

High above the Steppes, Azriel was grinding his teeth so hard he half expected them to turn to dust.

They were overseeing the females' training and Cassian's behaviour was...ill-befitting a commander of his rank.

As the explanations of how to wield a sword or staff poured out of his mouth rote, Cassian shook with silent laughter, face growing redder. Azriel explained that if your sword ever failed you (here Cassian dissolved into a coughing fit), that hands and teeth would serve as well (hunched over completely now) or any heavy blunt object in the immediate area (tears were streaming down his face). The females they were supposed to be teaching looked so bewildered that he wasn't sure they had taken in a single word. When the instruction part of the lesson was over and they paired up to go through the positions (Cassian's resolve broke and he giggled like a maniac) Azriel finally stepped away for a breather. 

He rubbed absent mindedly at his chest, where he thought he had felt... something and stared out over the mountainous landscape looming around them. Cassian soon jogged over to his side, throwing a dismissive "Allergies!" to Devlon who glared from the sidelines. Azriel looked once more at the barren surrounds and wondered, if pressed, that Cassian would profess a long-dormant snow allergy.

"Brother." he drawled, as he sidled up.

Azriel nodded, still a little pissed.

"Oh come on, I'm just happy for you!” Cassian shoved his shoulder playfully "So, so happy for you." He added a little mournfully.

Azriel just nodded again, dropping his hand to his side. He was happy too, he thought. But terrified also.

"Don't wig out." Cassian urged.

"Wig out?" Azriel snorted.

Cassian waved a hand "Human expression. If Elain says it's okay then you're in until she changes her mind."

Azriel's eyes widened.

"But," Cassian interjected hurriedly "I don't think she will. Ever. She's crazy about you. And Lucien..." He smirked, eyes dancing even as his nose wrinkled distatefully.

"You don't approve." Ariel stated blandly.

"It's not that." Cassian blurted, raising his hands defensively "I just didn't see that coming. I don't think anyone did. But if you're happy, I'm happy. And I won't pummel him."

Azriel huffed a laugh, watching his breath trailing away on the breeze "You and Mor practised that together didn't you?"

*

Lucien had by far the easiest day ahead of him. Sent down to the house Jurian and Vassa shared, their dull human senses detected nothing amiss, although Jurian's sharp eyes did linger whenever Lucien's thoughts tried to stray. It was dull talk, for good or ill their enemies' movements had halted, unusual now that the fairer weather was upon them. He half-fantasised that this stalemate would continue and he would have a long peaceful summer to enjoy his new lovers without the world butting in.

They parted ways in the early afternoon, Rhys winnowing to the demarcation point where the wall had once stood and waiting with his hand outstretched. Lucien shuddered as he crossed that infernal line, even though the wall stood no longer, the air still tasted different from one stride to the next, the grass and trees noticeabley brighter and more luscious on the Fae side.

He quickly summarised the day's discussions as Rhys winnowed them high above Velaris, his thoughts fraying as he felt the bond reeling him in.

Rhys watched him from the side, not saying anything.

Without any sign they suddenly plummeted to the ground, alighting incredibly gently on the ground next to a stunned Elain. 

"Take him Elain, before I vomit. He's useless today and he smells of my brother which is more than a little disturbing." He sketched a quick bow to the two of them before vanishing once more.

Elain laughed and stepped forward. Lucien grasped her hands and captured her mouth with his own.

"Hello wildcat," he murmured against her lips, then trailed kisses along her jaw and around her ear. She shivered delightedly and purred.

"Is Azriel back yet?" He asked, breath tickling her throat as he rubbed her hips with their clasped hands.

She shook her head lightly, eyes closed and head tipped back. Lucien dimly noted that they were in a garden in an unfamiliar part of the city, a stern female with a horribly twisted arm watching them from the window.

"Are you finished yet?"

Elain sighed sadly "No, one more hour."

"Can I assist you?"

She laughed sharply, "Gods no. Maybe one day, but I can't set you loose on a paying customer without knowing if you might kill everything."

He pressed more kisses to her brow, basking in her scent, mixed now with flowers and earth "The Autumn court has beautiful gardens, you know. I tended them with my mother when I was very young."

Elain nipped his lip "What I'm doing is a far cry from apple trees and hedge mazes."

He pulled back abruptly "How do you know that?"

She shrugged and grinned coyly "I read too, you know."

He brushed their lips once more "I don't want to talk about the Autumn Court anymore."

Elain hummed a non-commital response. 

Eventually she disentangled his fingers from hers and went back to work. Lucien sat smartly on a bench at the front of the property, waving genially at the mistress of the house as he passed her window. 

He watched the city pass by as he waited, breathing the air that tasted so different to the other courts he had lived in. He mused about his long life and the path it had taken. Somewhere deep inside, so young and fresh that he didn't want to examine it closely yet, he thought that maybe everything bad had happened so that he could be here. His heart ached for that lost love of his youth, and what had been done to her, but this new...something, might finally heal over that old wound and allow his guilt to ebb.

The darkness was there before he realised what was happening. Much like winnowing, Azriel stepped out of a dark pocket of the world as if he were simply passing through the rooms of a house. Lucien grinned wildly and stood to greet the shadowsinger.

Azriel smiled a little shyly and held out his hand. Elain was making her goodbyes with her client, the female regarding them curiously, and finally she skipped over to clutch Azriel's outstretched hand. Without a word, he vanished them away.

*

They had arrived at the House and immediately fallen into a tangle of limbs and hungry mouths. Clothes strewn all about and panting breaths the only sound. Elain had found herself once more between the two males, on her hands and knees in the thick carpet, Lucien deep in her throat while Azriel had pounded into her from behind with teeth-rattling intensity. She knew the males were watching each other over her head, and she did what she could to heighten their pleasure from her prone position, cupping Lucien's balls and caressing them while grinding as hard as she could back into Azriel's thighs.

Their climaxes came like dominoes, until they were falling over each other, slumping down until Elain felt crushed under the combined weight of the two warriors. 

She wriggled free and in the gap she had left, Lucien and Azriel nuzzled at each other with slow sensual kisses until Azriel reached out, eyes closed, and clasped her arm with unnerving accuracy. He tugged her back down so that the three of them lay on their backs in a row, Elain half on top of them.

All three were still breathing unsteadily, sweat slicked and light headed. 

After a moment, Elain said coyly, into the silence "If I didn't know better, I would say you two liked each other more than you like me."

Lucien spluttered denial but Azriel lazily pinched her soft stomach with his fingers

"What can I say, I like a toned physique and you, my love, are out of shape."

Elain half sat up in her outrage but he pulled her back close and began to kiss her neck, deeply and luxuriously. 

Lucien followed suit on her other side and their hands began to roam her body, pinching and twisting. Her raised nipples would soon be bruised and sore, she thought, but all sensibility drifted away as Azriel dipped his supple fingers between her legs. Lucien was working that bundle of nerves at the centre of her being and she was soon writhing once more, begging and screaming as her whole self scattered into the dark. 

When she was spent once more they drifted into a half-sleep for a while. Azriel, murmuring and cooing at some dream while Lucien and Elain watched him through sleepy eyes.

They hadn't eaten dinner though, and rumbles of hunger had them up once more. The table was already bearing the weight of a feast and they dug in silently, the males tearing into a roasted bird while Elain devoured a steaming bowl of stew. 

After two rounds of chocolate cake they finally ceased eating and watched one another in companionable silence.

Elain was the first to break it, hesitantly.

"Lucien," she began.

He head drifted in her direction, a half-smile on his lips.

"Feyre and Rhys wanted to know if you had any daemati ability."

The smile vanished like smoke and he sat up straighter. Azriel was watching them with a taut expression.

"Well, when we had the bond before, just the two of us, could you see it?" She mumbled quietly, hating the way Azriel imperceptibly pulled his shadows tighter.

"See it?" Lucien asked, bewildered "No. I could- I can feel it. But not see it." He paused, chewing his cheek "Can you see it?"

Elain nodded. 

Lucien whistled and fell back in his seat once more, he too seemed to be avoiding Azriel's eyes.

Azriel abruptly pushed back his chair and stood "I'll leave you two to it."

"Sit down!" Elain and Lucien blurted simultaneously.

Azriel looked surprised but silently complied.

Elain wrung her hands in her lap as she thought. Then, having an idea, she Tugged. 

Azriel and Lucien both gasped, jerking forward. She smiled sweetly and Tugged again.

Lucien and Azriel were staring each other. 

"Did you feel it?" She whispered.

They nodded.

"Lucien." She began again "When you came here, what did you think of everybody? What did you think of Az?"

Lucien floundered "I was overwhelmed. Rhys has a big family." Azriel noted the word choice and nodded approvingly "Cassian, I'm not a fan of. He's not my sort of person at all. Morrigan and Amren terrify me, Rhys is...Rhys. Wholly unexpected and always has a trick up his sleeve."

"And Azriel?" Elain prompted gently.

"Azriel," he mused, casting his mind back "Azriel scared me too. But I knew that as long as I didn't try to hide anything, if I offered him honesty and good behaviour that we would get along. That he would look after you when I couldn't. That we would be friends." He seemed surprised by his last words.

Elain turned to Azriel "And you? You interrogated Lucien when he arrived didn't you, what made you give Rhys the okay?"

"It was hardly an interrogation." Azriel replied defensively.

"Well?" She pressed.

"Gut instinct. I trusted him immediately, despite his reputation. I knew he was good and that his presence would help us. Help me." He added softly.

Elain smiled smugly 

"I knew it!" She declared "We're mates, all of us."

The two males rubbed their chests distractedly but the truth rang clear through them all.

Azriel opened his mouth but she stopped him with a shush.

"Rhys already smelled it so don't try and get out of it."

Lucien laughed, really laughed. Then offered out his hands. They accepted and the three of them sat like that for a long moment, hands clasped, their own family within the Night Court.

"Do we still need to make rules?" Lucien asked, screwing up his face distastefully at Elain's earlier word choice.

Azriel seemed to share the sentiment.

Elain thought it over "Do we promise to care for each other? And to never be jealous? If one is away, can the other two play?" They all snickered at the rhyme "Will we always be there for one another, the good and the bad? Will we carry each other's burdens and wipe away the tears when they come?"

They two males were solemn now, this moment had weight, they could all feel it.

"I will." Lucien said first.  
"I certainly will." Elain declared.  
Azriel had a slow feline smile on his face "I will." He whispered huskily.

Their conjoined hands suddenly bit with magic and they all jerked and gasped. They were fused together for a long second and then the magic released them.

Azriel chuckled and shook his head  
"Rhys will call us all idiots." He examined his new brand. A neatly intersected sun and moon on the palm of his hands, the image repeated on the back also. They all had identical marks. 

Elain groaned "That's going to look very silly with my pretty dresses."


	3. Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucien and Azriel bond.
> 
> The three mates share their hobbies with one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo it's Luzriel time!!!
> 
> I'm heading to church after posting this to wash off all the sin.
> 
> Elain doesn't have a lot to do in this chapter but she'll be back next time.

As it turned out, the "two can play" idea proved to be problematic. Being psychically connected to two people having sex made it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else. 

Azriel found himself relying more and more on his shadows and network of spies so that he could winnow home early in the afternoon. Some days he would merely lean in the doorframe and watch as Elain rode Lucien, she would hold his eyes while she fondled her breasts and he would find that he was stroking himself, straining at his leathers and more than once climaxing in his own hand without ever touching his mates. Other days he was stripping off his clothes as he strode in from the balcony and would wrench either of them away, whoever was closest, to bury himself into. 

Planting season was almost over for Elain and Lucien's duties were mostly in the city these days so the two of them had nothing better to do than flirt and fuck while Azriel tried to keep himself in check as he flew over the continent, monitored guard patterns at the human queens' palace and ferretted out potential eyes and ears in the other courts. He knew Rhys was starting to notice where he was letting things slip and sagged with relief when the high lord told him to take a day off. 

The next morning Lucien awoke before Elain, and kissed her on the shoulder. She mumbled but didn't stir, so he slipped into a long tunic and padded out to the dining room. Azriel was sitting at the table, nursing a hot cup of something spicy that smelled delicious.

"You're still here?" Lucien asked, cautiously "Is everything alright?"

Azriel stretched his arms over his head, bones crackling, and yawned, "Day off. Want one?" He gestured at his cup and Lucien nodded.

"It's your day off and you still got up at-" Lucien squinted out of the window "Is it even light out yet?" He grumbled, taking his first sip. It warmed him to his toes. "Oh," he groaned "that's good."

Azriel was examining him with a familiar spark in his eye "Say that again" he growled.

Lucien laughed, "You're insatiable" he ran his hands through his tangled hair "I've barely slept a wink these last few days."

Azriel nodded, taking a deep drink. Lucien noticed that his eyes were shadowed and drawn.

"You're tired?" He asked, concerned. He didn't realise until now that he had considered the shadowsinger beyond such a basic need as sleep. 

Azriel nodded slowly, and Lucien saw then the extent of his weariness.

"Rhys works you too hard." He murmured.

"I said it's my day off, didn't I?" Az teased, but with a little edge.

"Sorry, sorry. But he does. Well, we do too I suppose." Lucien finished with a grin.

Azriel smiled sleepily.

"Why don't you go back to bed?" Lucien asked, "Why are you up now?"

Azriel shrugged, "Habit I suppose. Why are you up?"

Lucien twitched his shirt looser, pointedly.

Azriel grinned, but Lucien shook his head "You need to rest."

"I'll rest later." Azriel shrugged.

"What, when the wildcat in there wakes up and mauls us both?" Lucien's eyes twinkled as he said it and they both adjusted themselves slightly.

"I don't deserve this." Azriel blurted after a moment, unable to keep it to himself any longer.

Lucien shook his head "Do either of us?"

Azriel raised his eyebrow "I know you've made some questionable choices over the years, but I would hardly put us on the same level."

"Oh yes," Lucien bit back "The feared torture master of the Night Court. Hands black with sin, blood of hundreds at his feet. Is that how you see yourself?"

Azriel looked stunned, and swiftly hid the hurt "That's how everyone sees me."

"Don't be ridiculous! No one in this court sees you that way. Elain and I certainly don't. If I didn't already know your reputation I would find it very hard to believe of the male I've come to know."

Lucien strode around the table to face Azriel. He placed his hands on the taller male's shoulders, even with one sitting and the other standing, they were almost eye to eye.

"Don't think I don't see it. I'm trained in court politics, you know. I see that look in your eyes. That doubt. The disbelief. But you are our mate. For good or ill, you're stuck with us."

Azriel's lips had parted and he was very still.

"You think I don't feel shame for my actions. You think I don't have dirt in my past that I wish I could bury. Azriel," Lucien pressed his forehead to his lover's, their breath mingling "I see you, shadowsinger. I see the face you wear for this court, for your brothers. I see the shadows you hide beneath like a cloak, I see your smile when no one is watching, the little jokes and sarcastic comments you make in your head but don't speak, the exasperation at the idiots you hang around with. I see the pain at what you do for Rhys, but I know that sometimes you like it and you think that makes you bad. But you're good. You are strong, and sweet, and kind. You are a rock to me and Elain but let us carry your burden. Let us bear it with you, my love. Don't ever think low of yourself no matter what."

He pressed a fervent kiss to Azriel's unmoving lips.

"Elain," Azriel said finally, running his tongue over his lower lip "I can't- I can't show her. She knows so little of the world. I don't think she even comprehends what I do in that dungeon under the Hewn City." His voice trembled and Lucien's heart cracked. He kneaded the male's shoulders with his fingers and kissed his brow

"Then it can be between us. Can't it? We've both seen war and death, we've both done terrible things and-" he hesitated a moment "We've both had terrible things done to us."

Azriel nodded, a tiny movement that Lucien only noticed because they were pressed so close. The shadowsinger wrapped his arms around Lucien's waist and pulled him close, just to feel his warmth and breathe his scent.

Lucien ran his fingers through the dark swathe of hair buried against his chest.

"Whatever you want to tell me, whatever you're permitted to tell me, I'll listen. You do a dirty job, but that doesn't need to define you. Just like Elain isn't that innocent little flower girl that everyone thought she was, and I'm not..."

Azriel's voice was muffled but the grin was clear "You're not just a pompous courtier with good manners."

Lucien tipped his head back and laughed. It felt good to laugh with Azriel, aside from everything else they were fast becoming friends.

"I have a lot of respect for you." Az was watching him "I've had watchers on you for a long time and when the reports came in, I... I always thought it seemed like you were doing the best you could with the crappy hand fate, and your family, had dealt you."

Lucien sobered "Thank you." he whispered.

They kissed then, long and sweet and deep. Tongues probing and hands dragging at the loose clothing they had donned that early morning. 

When Azriel turned, presenting his beautiful, muscled body to Lucien, the emissary wanted to weep. They were both, no, they were all broken in some way. But they had found each other and the love that was blooming was rooted deep.

He trailed kisses across Azriel's shoulders, down his spine, down the inner most line of his wings. Raised his hand to nip the tattoo of their promise. And when neither of them could bear it any longer, he took him. 

The wooden table that had seen far too much of their intimate parts this last month, groaned under their combined weight and the pulsing of their bodies. Lucien's hands traced Azriel's abdominal muscles, and drifted lower, lower, to cup his hardened heat.

He gentled his thrusting and matched the rhythm to his hand, thrusting his hips into the male's rear, while pulsing in time with his fisted hand.

Azriel was always the quietest of them, even in the throes of passion. But Lucien could hear his panting, feeling his thighs twitching with the need for release. He nipped Azriel's shoulder and begged 

"Say something."

Azriel huffed a breath, bearing down on Lucien's cock where was it buried in him, clenching his buttocks in time, his hands scrabbling at the wood beneath them.

"Lucien" he rasped. 

The sound of his name on the shadowsinger's lips was Lucien's undoing. He erupted with a gasp, legs near buckling with the explosion of pleasure, Azriel tensed and flexed in his hand until with one final pull, Lucien felt the heat and wetness burst over his fingers. 

Azriel was panting, slumped forward with Lucien still inside him. 

"Lucien" he murmured again, where his face pressed into the wood.

Lucien smiled, ear to ear and spread kisses across the male's back, following the lines of his wings with his lips. 

"Azriel" he purred, teasing.

Azirel only moaned in return, twitching his behind so that Lucien shuddered with the motion.

A scuff on the floor behind them had them both turning their heads, too content to rush for their clothes.

Elain stopped in the doorway, mouth dropped open. She smiled wickedly, knowingly before turning back the way she had come.

Azriel pushed himself up, Lucien's slick member slipping out of him. The two males regarded each other, the joining had been brief but vigorous and they were sheened with sweat. Azriel leaned in and Lucien tipped his mouth up for a kiss but was surprised by the male dragging his tongue up the column of his throat instead, tasting the salt and sweat, his eyes shuttered in lust. They were both back to attention in a flash, Azriel gripping Lucien by his thighs and hauling him up. They were only a step from the wall and Lucien found himself pressed into it, legs wrapped high around the shadowsinger's waist as long fingers pressed around, adjusting their angle and position until the head of him probed against that sensitive opening. 

The shadows were pulsing in this corner of the room and something had come loose in Azriel's eyes as he bit and sucked at Lucien's throat, still paused, nudging at his entrance, both of them panting. His wings flared wide and suddenly he was inside, the two males joined deeper and more intimately than ever before. They were eye to eye and Lucien captured Azriel's mouth fiercely, sucking on his lips and tongue. Azriel's hands flexed where he held Lucien up, kneading his hard thigh muscles and adding to the sensation of his pounding.

Azriel was unraveling, his panting becoming desperate, almost sobbing. Their kissing and biting was hard enough to bruise, the room was a riot of writhing black and the wall they were pressed against was leaking showers of rock dust and paint flakes. Azriel was roaring. Lucien's tightness and his toned body were wrapped around him like a trap and he couldn't get enough. He stared and stared at the shock of scarlet hair until it was all he could see. He bit down on Lucien's shoulder, tasting blood, as his climax wiped him out, almost losing consciousness as every ache and regret was swept into oblivion. 

Lucien chanted his name like a siren song as Azriel spilled and spilled deep inside him. Azriel heard it as if from far away, he was blind in the shadows, untethered from his body in a moment of utter bliss. But his mate was calling. 

When Azriel wrenched himself back into his body he found that tears had leaked down his cheeks and his body had slumped entirely, only the wall at Lucien's back was keeping them vertical. Lucien's hands were gliding up and down his back and his wings in firm soothing strokes and he was murmuring softly.

Azriel pulled his scattered thoughts back together and opened his eyes. 

Lucien was smiling, looking a bit dazed. "Where did you go?" He asked sweetly. 

Azriel cleared his throat and pressed his lips to Lucien's, "Thank you" he said thickly.

"You're welcome?" Lucien replied, bewildered.

"Thank you for...accepting me." Azriel clarified. "Thank you." He repeated, quieter.

Lucien nodded, understanding in his eyes. "Always."

Azriel lowered him to the ground, and retrieved their clothes. Lucien's back was red and scratched from the rough stone wall, his lips and throat were indeed bruised and there were deep teeth marks on his shoulder. He brushed off Azriel's concerned touch and kissed his fingers reassuringly.

"You had something you needed to get out of your system." He said, as if that made it okay.

Azriel only nodded, pushing that darkness deep down. He could never be that rough with Elain, he decided. She was light and soft and sweet, but Lucien was strong and steady and he knew something of the darkness too. Lucien was certainly not an equal on the battlefield or in the training ring but he wouldn't back down or balk at Azriel's truth. Something inside Azriel's twisted heart had eased with this male, even more than his courtship of Elain had brought light into that black place where his soul resided. When Lucien said he saw him, Azriel believed it, and he wasn't afraid.

*

Lucien slipped out for a couple of hours later that morning and when he returned he had a large bag with him.

Elain was sunning herself in the rooftop training ground while Az and Cassian clashed swords back and forth, sweat gleaming on bare chests.

Cassian caught Lucien's eye and abruptly covered himself in mock horror.

Lucien laughed exasperatedly and headed over to Elain, a nod to Azriel indicating he should join them when he was ready.

Elain looked radiant, she had donned a floaty lilac dress and her skin was pink in the warmth of the sun.

"Morning sweetheart" he gave her a quick kiss as he set down his bag and started a series of stretches.

Elain watched him in surprise "You're training?"

He shrugged non-commitedly, untucking his shirt so he could more easily twist his arms around, delighting in the pull of his muscles and feeling more limber already. 

He was in a sitting position, with his torso bent forward, hands wrapped around his outstretched feet when Cassian and Azriel strolled over.

"What in the Cauldron are you doing?" Azriel asked drily.

Lucien finished his stretch before he indicated the bag with a jerk of his chin.

Azriel toed it open, looked inside and made a face. He scooped a hand inside and pulled out a kind of white cowl, with a hard grey mesh on one side. 

Cassian chuckled.

"No." Azriel stated.

Lucien only shrugged and moved into another stretch, his ankle now pulled taut around the back of his neck.

Elain only seemed mildly interested in the conversation, although she was eyeing Lucien through her lashes.

Azriel dropped the item back into the bag and stalked to the weapons rack at the other side of the grounds. He took his time stowing his sword while the others waited. Lucien finished his stretches and rose to his feet, hopping lightly and shaking out his arms.

Azriel finally returned, glowering, and indicated warily that Lucien should lay out the full contents of the bag.

He complied and pulled out two puffy full-body suits in white, padded gloves and shoes to match, and two of the cowls. One was decidedly Elain sized and the other Azriel sized.

"The shopkeeper almost laughed me off the premises when I asked for an Ilyrian cut." He said sheepishly "So I bought a standard set and had Nuala and Cerridwen make the adjustments."

Azriel's gaze softened slightly, but a glance at Cassian's face had him scowling again.

"I'm not wearing that."

"I didn't say you had to." Lucien waited.

"It's white." Azriel finally spat after a long pause.

"Wearing white isn't forbidden in the Night Court is it?" Lucien smiled innocently.

Azriel paced a bit then nodded to the bag again "And the rest?"

They both had an eye on Cassian as Lucien revealed the final items: two incredibly thin swords, springy and without a sharp edge. They were like a matchstick to the huge thick blade in his hand. He didn't disappoint and fell backwards, crying with laughter and waving his own blade in the air. He was insensible in the background as Elain finally got to her feet and asked to be looped in.

"I thought I could teach you fencing." Lucien offered, a little nervously.

"Fencing?"

"It's not fighting." He said hurriedly, sensing her objection rising immediately "It's something the Autumn Court is famous for. It's more of a sport really. The ladies of my court learn it as well, it's all very political, heirarchies are built and lands won and lost every day in fencing matches at my father's keep."

Elain looked to Azriel "Do you know it?" she asked.

He snorted softly "I know of it. My skillset far surpasses anything I could learn from it."

Lucien blushed a little "I didn't mean that I thought you needed to learn it. I know it's limitations. I just thought it would be something we could do. Together. Something from my hom- from my court." He looked to Elain "It isn't about learning where to stab someone. It's about agility, balance, flexibility. Reflexes and reaction time."

Cassian was sitting in the dirt still, face ruddy with mirth, but with all the dignity he could muster he drawled "And why would sweet Elain need to be more flexible, Lucien?"

Azriel sent a swatch of shadow to clamp over the warrior's mouth.

"I'll do it." Elain announced, surprising all three of them "But Az has to wear the outfit."

He groaned, whispering to the mother for sanity.

"Well you said I'm out of shape!" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

He swept forward and kissed her lightly on the lips once, twice, three times. Cassian rolled his eyes and made a show of complaining through the gag, still slumped on the ground.

Azriel nodded reluctantly to Lucien and they went back inside to change.

He re-emerged scant moments later like a thundercloud. He hadn't donned the helmet but was clutching it in his fist as he waved it around emphatically.

"Is this really necessary?" He demanded.

Lucien was helping Elain with the last fastenings and they both suppressed matching grins.

"You're right, white isn't your colour." Elain observed, not unkindly.

Azriel seized it "Exactly! I'll take it off."

"Ah, but once you put your helmet on no one will be able to see you." Lucien chided.

Azriel stared at the meshed cowl in his hands miserably. "This is the Night Court not the..." He searched around, mouth flapping soundlessly. Elain giggled.

"Not the beekeeping court." He finished lamely.

The lesson was surprisingly fun for all all of them. Cassian had flown away still laughing, claiming he couldn't concentrate and needed to immediately commission a painting from Feyre of Azriel in the "ridiculous beekeeper get-up."

Lucien proclaimed to be rusty but he was surprisingly nimble and quick on his feet as he led them through opening stances and explained different tiers of points for a hit. The abrupt motions were so unlike Azriel's usual flowing grace that he was nearly matched with Elain, at least until he dredged up memories of the few matches he had observed at Beron's Forest House while spying, memorised them and then surprised Lucien with a rapid flurry of strikes, thrusting and weaving like a dancer. Lucien laughed delightedly, letting his foil drop, (not sword, he'd said) and taking the hits jovially. 

Elain managed to hold her own, the foil was supremely light and the padded suit was loose and easy to move in. Lucien showed her how to place her feet and to dart back and forth while thrusting and riposting. She found her body revelling in the exercise, her pulse coming quicker and her face beaming behind the mask as she pushed him back, eventually landing the tip of her foil on his arm when she seized the advantage of his hair falling down and momentarily obstructing his vision. 

She cackled wildly in surprise and he watched her curiously while he swept the errant hair back and swiftly braided it.

"What?" She asked. She didn't know if he could read her face through the mask.

"I think my mother would like you very much." He said softly.

Elain's lips parted in surprise but but she didn't know what to say.

Lucien scoffed and looked to Azriel "She would like you as well but for very different reasons."

Azriel huffed a surprised laugh and shrugged. 

When they finished and went back inside, Elain rushed to her room to pen a request to Rhys. She didn't know if it would even be possible but the next morning his reply came, appearing soundlessly in her lap as she was brushing her hair.

"Give me a week." It said. 

*

Elain was bouncing with excitement when the day came. She pulled the males out of bed after a slow morning of lovemaking and asked Azriel to take them down to the manor. 

Their new teacher was already setting up on the back lawn and Azriel groaned when he saw the equipment.

"You're not serious."

Elain beamed, "You gave me the idea."

"I hate bees." He moaned, alighting gently and immediately crossing his arms. 

Their beekeeping instructor turned and wrung each of their hands in greeting, bowing low to Azriel with awe on his face.

"Lord Azriel." He whispered in a hushed voice.

"Have we met?" Azriel asked, reaching out to bring the man back to standing.

"No, my lord."

"I'm not a lord." Azriel corrected gently.

"Sorry, my lord. Err-." The man floundered and Azriel chuckled, smiling warmly.

"Azriel is fine."

"No, no. That's not- you see, I owe you a life debt, lord."

The three mates stared at him in surprise.

"I'm sorry," Azriel began, "I don't recall."

"Not me, sir. My daughter. You saved her life from Hybern soldiers, here in the city. She was gathering seagrass and rosemary on the beach when they came."

A slow smile lit Azriel's face. "I remember."

The other male's face lit up with delight and he resumed the frantic bowing.

"How could I forget?" Azriel continued "She had already taken down two of them with her tiny pair of scissors when I landed."

The beekeeper abruptly stilled and went slightly pale "She never told me that."

"She's a fine girl, is she well?"

Lucien and Elain were watching Azriel with new respect and admiration while he chatted with the beekeeper about his family and the homestead he kept on their southernmost border.

"Just close enough to Day." He assured them "I'm not sure how you'll fair here in the city but I always encourage budding apiarists." He chuckled "A little gardening humour for you there."

Elain promised him that they would provide plenty of heat and light and when Lucien questioned her she explained in a hushed voice that Feyre had agreed to give the bees a small dose of Thesan's power when she could. 

Azriel didn't make a fuss about the outfit this time but the others could feel his simmering embarrassment as they donned the loose robes and pulled on the huge hats, white again.

The keeper had brought them half a dozen boxed hives and the queen was due to hatch any moment. 

Azriel resumed his grumbling about hating bees and bees hating him and Elain noticed that he seemed to be correct, the aimless drifting of the little creatures was definitely veering away from him specifically.

She made a request to the keeper and although startled, he submitted and handed her the little box that held the queen. She placed it in Azriel's hand, hers and Lucien's clasped below and bid him to extend the thinnest tendril of shadow. 

The whisp of black nudged open the box and they beheld the queen as she hatched from her strange shell. They waited patiently while she chewed herself free, the other bees noticeably growing excited, crawling on Lucien and Elain's gloved hands and netted heads and necks. The keeper had stepped back respectfully.

The queen finally pulled her little body free and shook out the wispy wings. Azriel's tendril of shadow weaved before her and she climbed onto it as a means out of the box. He shivered imperceptibly as her little legs scrabbled upward. She rubbed her face with her forelegs and wandered around a little, then took off, heading to the nearest hive. The rest of the bees collectively followed, bumping into Azriel and the others as they bobbed around. He watched a slower specimen as it landed briefly on his arm before bouncing back into the air.

"To new beginnings." Elain murmured quietly. 

Their instructor had a thick manuscript for each of them that he'd written himself. It contained everything they needed to know, with beautifully illustrated diagrams of the anatomy of a bee and delicious sketches of dripping honeycomb that he said his daughter had contributed. It had taken him the full week to arrangement transportation of the hives and he wasn't keen to leave his own hives too frequently so they parted ways after a thorough tutorial with a promise to visit him if they needed more advice.

Lucien nicknamed their queen "Nesta" and by the end of the session it had stuck. The drones that scurried around her quickly became the denizens of the night court and they dissolved into fits of laughter when bee-Cassian tried to approach the queen and was soundly chased off by the others. 

* 

That was how they spent the days that followed. Azriel up before dawn to work abroad, Lucien writing his correspondence and attending meetings and Elain visiting her gardens. Then they all met up in the afternoons for fencing and tending the bees. 

Only once had Azriel pulled a half-asleep Lucien out onto the balcony with him as he prepared for another early start. He stared out over the city as he buckled his fighting lethers by memory alone. Lucien watched him blearily, shivering a little in the fresh dawn air.

"Lucien," Azriel began at last.

"Hmm?" 

"Today..." Azriel was having great difficulty with his words "What are your plans?"

"Oh, not very much. I have some letters to write, Tarquin is waiting for a response to his enquiry about shipping channels. Elain wanted to go into the city for lunch later. Why do you ask?"

Azriel was still hesitating. 

"What's wrong?" Lucien asked, much more alert now.

Azriel shook his head, his lips were tugging downward.

"What is it?" He asked again, quieter. They were several steps apart but it didn't feel right to close the gap.

"I have to go to the Hewn City today."

"Oh."

The silence lingered between them.

"Would you..." Azriel swallowed, eyes looking anywhere except Lucien's face "Would you not bed Elain today, please."

Lucien thought his heart might cleave in two. He finally rushed forward and clutched Azriel's jacket in his hands.

"Azriel." He breathed. "Of course. Of course not. I'm so sorry."

Azriel was still avoiding his eyes "I know I shouldn't ask that but-"

Lucien shushed him with a gentle kiss "But nothing. You don't need to be distracted by us while you're...down there."

Azriel nodded lightly, returning the kiss with a brush of his lips.

"I'm sorry I hadn't considered it before." Lucien whispered. 

"It's not something you should even be thinking about." Azriel argued "I hate myself for needing to ask."

"No, it's our fault. Do you want me to... should I tell Elain? Just so that she understands a little?"

Azriel considered before nodding slowly.

"Thank you." He finally whispered.

Lucien kissed him "I see you. Remember that."

Lucien went back inside after watching Azriel depart and made to return to the bedroom they shared, but thought better of it. Elain would take his reluctance much better once he'd brought her a cup of Azriel's imported coffee.


	4. Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azriel reveals himself.
> 
> Lucien makes a decision.

On a rare day when Lucien was the one called away early, Elain padded out of the bedroom to find Azriel reading a stack of reports over his discarded breakfast dishes at the dining table. He pushed them away when he heard her coming and beckoned her to come close.

She slid sideways onto his lap and greeted him with a sensuous kiss.

"Just us today." She murmured onto his lips. 

He nodded, slipping a hand under her thighs and twisting her so that she now straddled his lap. His gaze was thoughtful and distant even as he nuzzled her hair away from her throat and began sucking at her skin in a way that made her toes curl up in anticipation. 

She moaned lightly and rocked on him, wriggling down so that she could feel his firmness against her through their flimsy nightclothes.

He pulled away from her neck with a groan and stilled her with strong hands on her hips.

"Lucien's meeting this morning is very important." He growled, frustrated.

Elain sighed too but didn't make to move away "Okay. That's fair."

After those first heady weeks of being completely insatiable regardless of impropriety, they were trying to take the new "no distractions at work" promise seriously. 

Azriel reached around her and plucked a strawberry from his plate. He held it to her lips with a coy smile and she nibbled obligingly. He smeared the second across her lips before she could snag it with her teeth so she nipped his fingertips. They went on that way for some time until she thought she might burst and the House finally vanished away the plates when she begged him to stop.

Azriel still held her firmly in his lap.

"Thank you for the reports." He said softly.

Elain flushed "I didn't know you would actually read them."

He frowned "Of course I would."

Lately Elain had been having vivid dreams and, unsure if they were just that or something more, she had been writing detailed accounts and leaving them on Azriel's desk each morning. 

"Anything last night?" He asked quietly.

She tried to remember and shook her head. "Just something silly about my sisters."

"Okay" he replied.

Somehow they had never continued with the seer training after the first eventful lesson and he suspected it might be to their detriment at some later point. So far Elain's dreams seemed unconnected, almost nonsensical, but an itch in the back of his brain said that the pieces were just waiting to click together.

Elain seemed to be working up to something so he idled his fingers in a lock of her hair while she gathered the right words.

"There's something between you and Lucien, isn't there?" She blurted at last.

He wasn't expecting that.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know." She batted his hand out of her hair and roughly brushed it back from her face "You two have this...understanding that I'm not privy to."

Azriel let her see on his face that he was taking her seriously and considering how much to say "You're so young, Elain." He instantly cringed at the look on her face. A flash of Nesta Archeron.

He held up his hands defensively "All I mean is that Lucien and I...have seen a lot that you haven't. Bad things. Bad people." This wasn't a topic he was even nearly ready to broach with the wildflower glaring at him in his lap. 

"I'm not a child." She said petulantly, her turn to cringe at the wheedly tone.

"I know. I know." He scooped up her hands and kissed her fingertips. "We only want to protect you. Shield you from the dirtier side of our lives."

Now she looked wary. 

"You know what I do for this court." He whispered.

Elain gulped. She seemed suddenly like she wanted to put some space between them.

"Elain." He urged "You promised to have me, shadows and all."

She interrupted him "That's not what I- that hadn't even crossed my mind."

Azriel's heart lurched.

She read his face and gasped "No! I didn't mean it like that. I meant...I know what you do." She was whispering too now "I know what you do and I hate it. I don't want to know about it or think about it or talk about it. Not yet."

He looked at her sharply at those last words.

She offered him a little smile "I know you think the fencing is silly but it's still a sword isn't it? I might not be ready to behead anybody yet but give it time and we'll see."

He quirked an eyebrow and noticed her breath catch a little "Beheading?"

She nodded dazedly.

"Tougher than you'd think. Only the strongest swordsman can get it off in one swing. There's a lot of bone to-"

"Stop!" She begged, looking queasy but smiling. 

He chuckled and squeezed her close. With her face pressed into his hair she mumbled

"I was raised to be a pretty little thing. Seen and not heard. Well-mannered and considerate. But both of my sisters were raised that way too. And look at them! Always in skin tight pants these days, if they wear a dress it's barely even there. They swear like sailors, fight like men. The last time I went to Nesta's house for tea she showed me the two-handed sword she had just purchased. For herself!"

Azriel's laugh rumbled through him and he resumed playing with her hair.

"Lucien and I agreed that if we needed to share the weight of our..work, that we wouldn't lay it at your feet. You are our sunshine. You don't need to hear about that."

"That may be, but I'm part of this too. If something happened today while Lucien was gone would you talk to me or wait for him?

Azriel raised a sceptical eyebrow, then barked "What has happened? Status report. What are the enemy's numbers? Has Velaris been compromised? Are our family safe? Does Rhys know yet? What message should I send to our allies?" He snapped his fingers in her face "Status report."

Elain stared at him, completely bewildered. "It was hypothetical." She whispered.

He laughed, broke character, kissed her brow "I know, I was teasing." He pulled back and laughed again at the expression still on her face, kissed her again "You'd make a terrible solder."

Elain huffed and scowled "You know what I meant."

Azriel sighed, dragged his hand through his hair. Elain watched every moment.

"Alright. Three it is and three it shall be. We weren't keeping secrets from you, Elain. I swear it." He ducked his head to press a kiss to her collarbone "I'm sorry for thinking you weren't strong enough. You're right, the fencing is good for you. And the bees are good for me." He added wryly, rolling his eyes "Perhaps you will become tougher while I become softer."

She giggled and pinched the firm skin of his abdomen "Nothing soft here." She teased.

She felt him twitch beneath her and grinned. 

"Lucien..." he warned.

"No, I'm Elain." She caught his lower lip with her teeth and bit softly. 

He groaned again, hands tightening painfully on her hips, and where before she had felt his sleepy morning arousal between her legs, now he surged to attention and pressed urgently against her. His wings flared and his eyes shuttered closed.

"If you wish," she breathed, trailing kisses to his throat, "I can be Lucien."

"What." He rasped, head tipped back to allow her lips to lock around his ear lobe.

"You can bend me over" she nipped the soft flesh and her fingers began to trace a vein on his splayed wing "And you can fuck me in that place you and Lu love so much."

His eyes flew open but his face was completely addled with lust and his gaze darted around unseeing. Elain rarely cursed and she knew that it drove him wild. She rocked, just slightly, against him and felt her panties sticking to her own arousal. He sucked in a long slow breath but didn't speak. 

"You can do whatever you want to me and I'll beg for it." She whispered, "You can take me anywhere, any place, I'm yours."

Azriel looked completely dazed, his lips had parted and he didn't seem to be breathing. She could see the pulse hammering in his throat and pressed a kiss to it.

He sprung to his feet abruptly and set her on the table. He leaned away from her, drank her in, his hands still tight around her.

"You really have to get into everything don't you." He teased softly "Lucien and I can't have any secrets, you want to know what I would feel like inside your ass," he pinched her to demonstrate his point.

Elain nodded breathlessly. 

He laughed but shook his head "No."

She opened her mouth to protest but he shushed her.

"No." He repeated. "Lucien and I won't sneak away to talk about work anymore. But you are still a young female and I will not bend you over and take you like a male. Not when your female parts are so much more delicious."

He kissed her hungrily but danced out of reach when she tried to cup him through his pants. 

"Behave, little girl." He growled, smiling wickedly.

Elain growled in return, baring her teeth. Azriel dragged his hands through his hair once more, eyed her up and down where she was sat, legs wide, her arousal visible through the thin cotton. 

"No." He laughed again, and disappeared into shadow.

*

When Lucien returned that evening, they dined together as usual. But instead of Elain browsing a book or pamphlet while the males talked shop, she listened and asked questions.

Lucien was surprised at first, but a silent conversation passed between the males and he soon relaxed into it.

Elain was appalled at her own ignorance when she had to clarify who exactly Jurian was and found that they had in fact met, more than once. She had been so trapped in her longing for the human world that much of the war had passed her by completely. And even since then she had ignored any talk of the other courts and their denizens. 

When the talk turned to Lucien's brother Eris, she kept it to herself that she couldn't remember which of the red-headed, cold-eyed males he was. 

They lounged by the fire long into the night, legs entangled and wine passed around. All three felt as if yet another invisible barrier had been broken, something between them knotting ever closer and binding them tighter. Elain still shied away from talk of blood or battle, and privately she thought that she truly wouldn't ever behead someone, or hurt them at all, but she revelled in being fully present for what felt like the first time since the Cauldron.

They didn't have sex that night. They talked and kissed and eventually fell asleep fully dressed all tangled in a heap. It was the most open the three of them had been emotionally, not just with each other but with anyone. And a gentle euphoria settled into their hearts that night.

*

"What is it?" Elain asked, half giggling, her fingers deep in the thick grey wool, even as she leant backwards from the weaving face as it tried to chew her hair.

"It's an alpaca." said the farmer, bemusedly looking at Azriel who was positively beaming while somehow managing to still look surly.

There were in an oft-forgotten family of small peaks, near the ocean with Velaris far behind them and hidden by the meandering coastal cliffs. Azriel had woken them both with soft kisses and winnowed them with no explanation, only that glowing happiness seeping through his skin as a clue.

"Lord Azriel has never brought friends here before, I'm sorry I'm not better prepared to host." The farmer said, bowing low with a slightly panicked look on his face. 

Lucien patted him on the shoulder "Please. Don't let us keep you from your work. We will stay out of your way."

The farmer waited for a confirming nod from Azriel, still chewing hard on his cheek but he backed away, looking glad to be dismissed but still concerned.

Lucien waited until he was out of earshot then turned to Azriel "Where have you brought us, shadowsinger?" 

Azriel sighed, his own hands busy scratching the ears of a second alpaca, this one chocolate brown. 

"Can't you just enjoy yourselves without demanding all the answers?" He mused.

"No." Elain and Lucien replied in unison.

Azriel whispered a plea to the mother "It's an alpaca farm. This is an alpaca." He gestured to the strange creature now sniffling at his pockets "That is also an alpaca." Elain's friend had finally snagged a lock of hair and was chewing thoughtfully. She was so focused on Azriel that she hadn't noticed yet.

"But what are they?" She asked, a little exasperated.

Azriel shrugged.

"How did you know this was here?" Lucien asked, he had yet to befriend one of the creatures, the third of the small herd was still eating breakfast some way off.

"I rescued the farmer once." Azriel replied casually "Naga or some such, I don't recall. Don't you like it?” the last was said with a touch of uncertainty.

"I love it!" Elain cut across Lucien.

He was still confused "But why are we here?"

"To see the alpacas."

Lucien looked doubtfully at the strange, long-necked, unstable looking thing. "Do they have information for you?"

Azriel positively roared with laughter. Elain's companion startled and wobbled rapidly away from them on its stubby legs. Azriel's merely wheezed a low noise and lowered it's strange head to pick at the grass.

Azriel bent at the waist, heaving with mirth "No, they don't have information for me!"

Lucien was still confused.

"Will we come here often?" Elain asked brightly.

"Oh!" Lucien caught up at last "This is what you chose for us to do together?"

Azriel finally straightened and nodded. "For now at least. There's not really anything to do here, unless you want to help muck out, but I come here sometimes." He looked out towards the sea. His alpaca was leaning her head against his leg now and he resumed the ear scratching absent mindedly "It's peaceful here. And alpacas are great listeners." He tapped the overlarge ear pointedly.

Lucien threw his hands up, amused but still thrown off "And here I thought I'd found the one sane person in this court."

"So you're not an animal person?" Elain mused.

"I don't really see the point." He admitted. 

"Here." Azriel took his hand and placed it on the animal's fluffy head. She snorted a little but didn't shy away. "See how soft it is."

Lucien humoured him and twisted his fingers in the thick wool. "Soft." He confirmed.

Elain and Azriel's eyes met and they both laughed. "You're hopeless." Azriel moaned.

Lucien shrugged apologetically with a wry grin "Sorry."

They left a few hours later with a set of thick socks apiece and more for the rest of the court. Lucien had finally eased up when the farmer patiently explained that the wool was the thickest and softest in Prythian, and that the milk and meat were also available for those who wanted it. He had also slipped a packet of Azriel's morning brew among their parcels, and when Lucien professed his own newfound love of it, the male added a second. 

"I never knew you were wound so tight." Elain said, scanning the male with fresh eyes.

"I like to be busy." He replied, affronted.

"Yes but, don't you ever do something completely frivolous? Just purely for the enjoyment of it?" She pressed.

Lucien couldn't answer. He didn't know if ever had.

They arrived at the river manor and met Rhys as he was hurrying out. He took one look at their packages, quirked an eyebrow and said to Azriel, 

"I never did get around the investigating where those creatures came from. They're not native and he certainly doesn't have a permit."

Azriel scowled, dug out the midnight blue pair of socks from his bundle and threw it hard at Rhys' chest. 

"Here's your bribe."

Rhys laughed, clutching his gift and raising a hand in farewell before he winnowed away.

"He seemed in a rush." Elain noted worriedly.

Azriel slung his arm around her "If it was anything to worry about he would have told me."

They entered the house all at once, barely squeezing through the doorway and stumbling into the entrance hall, laughing.

Cassian was leaning against the bannister and snorted disapprovingly.

"Mother save us from these idiots." He sighed. 

Lucien fished out the scarlet pair of socks for Cassian and passed them across. 

"Oh, excellent!" He brightened, and strolled ahead of them into the house. 

Feyre was waiting in the lounge, as were the rest of the inner circle. A palpable air of tension was resting over the room.

Azriel instantly stiffened "What's happened?"

Feyre looked to Lucien, her mouth twisted in a grimace "It's Eris."

Lucien frowned, the bag of presents forgotten in his arms.

"What has he done now?" He asked finally, in a cold tone Elain had never heard him use before.

"He's called in his bargain." Feyre said bitterly.

"Where was Rhys going?" Az asked urgently.

Feyre bit her lip and wrung her hands, looking desperately around the room. 

"He had to go. He gave his word."

"Fuck." Cass and Az swore in unison.

"He just strolled right past me like he was popping out to go shopping!" Cassian explained. "That bastard didn't say a word."

"We don't have a choice." Feyre said, pleadingly.

"Is my father dead?" Lucien asked quietly.

Feyre shook her head. "Not yet."

Lucien was shaking slightly. He looked to Morrigan. Her eyes were hard, glinting and her lips pressed in a tight grimace. 

"Then there's still time." He said, to her only. 

Elaine was still stood beside him and she had to resist the urge to tug his sleeve like a child. Thankfully (or not), Azriel appeared just as lost as she. 

Morrigan seemed to brace herself, spine going rigid and straight. She had eyes only for Lucien and Elain felt a twisting dread.

"Let's go." She said.

Lucien nodded abruptly and dumped the bag of socks on Feyre's desk. He turned to Elain, clutched her arms and kissed her swiftly. She couldn't speak. He turned to give Azriel the same treatment but the shadowsinger backed away.

"You can't do this." He breathed "Think about what you've built here."

The others were still a step behind.

"I can't let him take it. You know what he is. I can do this" Lucien pleaded, upturned palms outstretched.

"Lucien!" Feyre barked sharply "What is this?" Mor was avoiding their eyes.

Lucien swallowed hard, looked around at them all.

"Morrigan and I have an agreement." He paused, drawing out the moment before they all knew the truth. He looked at Elain with apology in his eyes "If Eris tried to take Autumn Court, I would take it first."

There was a silence in the room like the deep breath the world took before thunder struck.

Everyone shouted at once, but Lucien, Elain and Azriel stood silent and still in the centre. Elain wondered if Lucien had been preparing them for this moment, with his slipped remarks of Autumn Court customs, and speaking of his mother. She gave him a small nod, tears building in her eyes. Then she went to the sofa where Nesta was sitting, even as she shouted obscenities. Her sister tucked her under her arm and began to stroke her hair as the sobs came.

Azriel and Lucien still faced one another. Rage and betrayal writhing between them.

Lucien held out his hand again, a wordless plea. Azriel huffed a breath as if the weight of the world was bearing down on him. He looked around at his family, all of them red in the face as they shouted their protests. He looked to Mor, who was shining, as she always was in his eyes, but this time it was the shine of steel, a sword finally ready to be unsheathed. 

He clutched Lucien's outstretched hand and nodded. His mate sagged in relief, swept him into an embrace and kissed his cheeks, his jaw, his neck.

"I love you." Azriel whispered. 

"I'll come back." Lucien promised.

Then he stepped back, into Morrigan's arms, and they vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this far, and for the wonderful comments!!
> 
> I honestly don't know if I'm going to write more, I never intended for there to be any real plot but this felt inevitable. 
> 
> Everything I've written I see as a very really possibility for the characters and I've wanted to know more about the Autumn Court ever since we first met Lucien way back in Spring.
> 
> I really can't guarantee any more chapters but if there are I hope you will come back for them!!
> 
> Much love to you all  
> xoxoxox


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